I got a media pass to the show so I'll be there trying my hand at some video coverage. Not super interested in spraying the event, just doing a few good segments on the stuff that really grabs me. If anyone reading this is going to the show and wants to link up, give me a shout out.
See you there
EPIC Test Shoot @ Attic Studios
ISO 640, 48fps, 180 Shutter, RedCode 5:1
RED Epic-X in Stills Configuration, RED 18-50mm @ T3
Model: Andrea Grant
Shooter: Ben Cain
Editor: Nate Pommer - Super Collider Post
Colorist: Tom Wong
Lighting Designer: Matt Hawkes
Art Director / Hair / Makeup: Heather Thomas
Location: Attic Studios
Special Thanks to:
Peter Clark, Matt Hawkes, Heather Thomas, and Attic Studios
Derek Nelson and B2Pro
RED Digital Cinema
Music is "The Pink Room" from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Soundtrack
NOTES FROM SHOOTER:
There is some flicker on the makeup table shots. I've never seen incandescents flicker @ 48 fps before but I suppose there's a first time for everything. The camera was in "Stills" mode meaning I was operating with the Interface Grip and pulling focus with the weight of the lens in my hand. Because of the small size of the camera, this isn't a good way to shoot motion with it. It really needs to go on your shoulder somehow. Once more of these are out in the field, I'll be curious to see the various configurations and what people come up with to get it in a more comfortable operating mode.
NOTES FROM COLORIST:
So the workflow was developing the Epic r3d's, shot 5:1 at a lower iso to try to gain back more in the low end, and in redlogfilm for the max the image has to offer. The imagery we had, was very high contrast, probably almost a 6-7 difference from the lowest to just the midtones. A lot of blacks were clipped but that's fine considering it as a available light shoot, and the mood of the image is what we wanted anyway. I found that image was, it almost looks identical to the r1 mx to the eye, but with noticeably increased clarity and texture. We were working with 16 bit DPX, for uncompromised quality of the online, since Resolve doesn't take in Epic r3d's yet. I found the highlight roll off more gradual and more aesthetically pleasing than the r1. It felt more gentle over all, and had a wonderful organic sharpness to it, which is what RED is known for. Hyper sharp, but not in the edge enhanced kind of what. Brought to you by just the pure resolution of the sensor.
The blacks definitely had more information in it, and the dynamic range in the low end is very nice. I was digging out certain areas of hair, while leaving the rest of the room dark, several nodes of contrast expansion and compression. The extra bitrate in the codec really helped a lot, as I wasn't afraid to mess with the blacks as much. Yes there was some noise to a certain extent with some of the more very extreme under exposed shots, since it was shot run and gun. So that level of noise on such a un-planned shoot is pretty remarkable for a sensor packing so many pixels. The noise is also very tight and small, and black and white which is aesthetically closer looking to film grain. Little better than what the r1 mx looks like to my eye.
Overall, I think it's the fact that the r3d has much less compression on it now that's making this more of a great time in the grade. The sensor itself for all intents and purposes is just like a r1 mx, just tweaked out to be better across the board. I think r3d is coming to full fruition now, and with the latest color science, it's looking more organic and natural than ever.
To quote our always eloquent Vice President, "this is a big fucking deal !"
I'm going to indulge in a little speculation - Gemini 444 hasn't hit market and is totally untested so please take with a grain of salt.
With a relatively low cost Uncompressed Solid State Recorder such as this and the potential for 10GB/sec data transfer with Thunderbolt, the era of uncompressed capture, playback, and realtime editing seems to be approaching fast. Uncompressed HD is fantastic stuff and until recently has been pretty much the exclusive domain of very expensive decks such as the OB-1 and Codex. The Cinedeck has been in the field for over a year now and is definitely a fully capable uncompressed recorder but the small size, low power draw, and price point on the Gemini 444 is what's really turning heads. If it proves to be issue-free and stable enough for the rigors of field use, I can't imagine any production that wanted to do uncompressed capture not utilizing this low cost deck. As far as HD video quality is concerned, there's no place to go beyond uncompressed. That's the creme de la creme of video so if these higher cost recorders can't offer anything more in terms of functionality/stability or compete with the price, then they seem to be at a bit of an impasse.
Sony has yet to drop their solid state HDCAM SR-R1 deck and compared to the Gemini it already has 2 problems - you can guarantee that both the deck and mags will be substantially more expensive AND it's compressed. Granted HDCAM SR is a superb compression scheme and has been the industry workhorse for years but it's still compression nonetheless whereas Gemini records the 1200 mbps 10 bit data stream that's coming directly off the camera before it hits the internal compression. There could be all kinds of issues with this product that could prevent its practical use but on paper, it's pretty phenomenal.
Sony SR-R1, D.O.A.?
Got a RGB Log enabled Sony F3? Get a Gemini and in many ways, you've got a F35 with an OB-1 sitting on top for a tiny fraction of the price.
If there's anything I take away from all this is that there's just no excuse anymore. The tools that were once the sole domain of deep pocketed productions have never been more accessible. If you can't make great looking images with this stuff then you're probably in the wrong business.
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